Chicago Sun-Times: Jackson-Akiwumi, nominee for Chicago federal appeals court, would be rare judge who was criminal defense lawyer
This excerpt is from a piece that originally ran on April 27, 2021.
If confirmed, as expected — Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin recruited her for the position — she will mark two milestones: Jackson-Akiwumi will be only the second Black woman ever on the Seventh Circuit and will be the only person of color currently on the Chicago appeals court.
And according to the Alliance for Justice, a liberal law group, Jackson-Akiwumi will be “only the third federal appellate judge to have spent a majority of their career as a public defender.”